Ryan rolled over last week! After watching him try so hard for weeks, it was so exciting to see his tiny little body finally rotate over from his back to his belly. I was so proud of him. That pride lasted for about 4 hours. Until I put him to bed. And since then, I have developed a strong dislike for the act of rolling.
Rolling has quickly become his favorite activity and he does it within minutes of lying down. Once babies roll, it is advised that you stop swaddling them. The fear is if they somehow roll over while swaddled (although, really, I don't know how he could roll without the use of his arms) he would not be able to use his arms to lift up off the crib, and could possibly smother himself. So I had to put him to bed unswaddled, and he has since become a wild, rolling, arms flailing about maniac who no longer sleeps.
Gone are the days of my baby burrito who happily fell asleep on his own, tightly wrapped in his baby straight jacket. I have said goodbye to his solid one hour nap in the morning and two hour nap in the afternoon. I'm lucky now if I get a half hour out of him. Now when I put him down I listen to him yell and cry and fuss, unsure how to handle his new found freedom.
Instead of waking up once a night to nurse him, now I'm up 3, sometimes 4, times a night. Putting his pacifier back in that he now pulls out thanks to his free hands. Rolling him back onto his back, since he has only mastered back to belly, and then just lies there stuck, like a turtle flipped over.
I know it's a phase that he will get through, Nathan did the same thing around the same time. But this has been the longest week of my life. I remember when Nathan was born and I was having a hard time my mom told me "Everything is a phase. Enjoy the good ones, because they don't last forever. And stay strong during the bad ones, because you'll eventually get through them."
It's been 4 long nights... is this phase almost over?? I'm ready for a good one to start.
